The message had been on the wall for five days.
Elias stood before it each morning, watching the words pulse with their cold light. THE STORM IS PASSED. THE CHAOS REMAINS. THE FINAL TEST AWAITS. He had tried everything to remove it. Light. Shadow. The power of the Primordial Light itself. Nothing worked.
But something else had changed.
The guardians were acting strangely. Their movements were slower, their eyes distant. They spoke less, and when they did, their words were clipped, hesitant. It was as if something was draining their energy, their will to fight.
Elias had noticed it three days ago, but he had hoped it was just exhaustion. Now he knew it was something more.
The chaos is reaching through the message, the shadow said. It is feeding on the guardians. Weakening them.
Elias
